Stephen Yeargin

This is not so much a review for Shazam, even though I personally believe that it is the best free application on my iPhone. Instead, it is about a way forward for radio and the music industry as a whole.

The application can tag almost any music it records with the accurate song title and artist, as well as links to purchase the song on iTunes or watch a music video (if available) on YouTube. Tonight, I pulled up my list of recently tagged songs and proceeded to add them to my shopping cart on iTunes. These were songs that I had heard throughout the week played on radio that I wanted to remember and save for later. I liked them enough to purchase them. It makes for a fairly seamless transition from hearing the music that I like to making the purchase. Some are independent artists without big touring budgets, others are more mainstream.

It is really how I have always bought music online — hearing the song played on the radio or at a venue, then going home and seeing if it is available on iTunes (or another service). If I realize that I liked a number of songs from the same album, I will go ahead and buy the entire thing to hear it in the format the artist likely intended it to be heard: as one flowing piece of work. But for the most part, singles fill my music library.

I spend more on music now than I did when I had to weigh whether to purchase the entire album. I have a few CDs (Jimmy Buffett and Frank Sinatra, for example) that I picked up on clearance, but even those were quickly loaded into to digital library. It is just a smarter way to manage your music.

The traditional distribution channels for music (record stores, big box retail, and even Internet) could learn a lot from watching the newspaper industry enter the twilight years of its existence. Both have been thriving industries in the past, and both have been slow to adapt to the new ways that consumers seek out their product. But, just like the news will be reported regardless of the medium, there will always be music. The entrepreneurial spirit will put forward new ideas and new models to make the recording industry as vibrant as ever by taking the leap of faith into the new century.

I believe that it begins by looking at the actual product. I am purchasing the sounds that come out of my speakers, not the CD that plays nor the digital file I downloaded. Both are useless unless I hear “Fire And Rain” softly rolling through the room or in my car. Likewise, I am purchasing the knowledge gained from reading the newspaper, not the dingy paper and ink product.

For now, it is off to bed before we head to PodCamp Nashville tomorrow.